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Most folks agree—pot can be good for you
Public opinion backs medical marijuana, says a report released October 24 by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Ten years have passed since California voters passed the “Compassionate Use” ballot initiative, and not one of the dire consequences predicted by its opponents has come to pass.
There are now ten more medical marijuana states. And according to Proposition 215, Ten Years Later: Medical Marijuana Goes Mainstream, government surveys show that adolescent marijuana use has not gone up in any state from which before-and-after data are available.
In 1996, President Clinton’s “drug czar” Barry McCaffrey argued, “There is not a shred of scientific evidence that shows that smoked marijuana is useful or needed… increased drug abuse in every category will be the inevitable result” of California’s medical marijuana law.
Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein claimed Prop. 215 was “riddled with loopholes so big that it would have the effect of legalizing marijuana.”
But when the Government Accounting Office looked at Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Oregon in 2002, most of the 37 law enforcement agencies they interviewed reported that “medical marijuana laws had not greatly affected their law enforcement activities.”
Local cops don’t have to enforce Feds' law
The MPP report discusses the implications of conflict between Federal and State drugs laws. “While the Federal government can enforce Federal laws anywhere in the United States, the Federal government cannot force states to have laws that are identical to Federal law and cannot force State and local police to enforce Federal laws.” The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Gonzales v. Raich affirmed that Federal laws could trump State drug laws, but did not address enforcement.
The role of local police in Federal law enforcement has been at issue on many fronts recently, usually in connection with the “Terror War.” For example, a recent report on immigration reform states,
“State and local police have long sought to separate their activities from those of federal immigration agents in order to enhance public safety. Why is that?
"Because when immigrant community residents begin to see state and local police as deportation agents, they stop reporting crimes and assisting in investigations. The fear of deportation often silences them from reporting abuses, making it more difficult for police to effectively do their jobs.” State and Local Police Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws, NCLR, March 2006
No state ballot initiative to permit medical use of marijuana has ever been defeated, winning by solid margins in both “red” and “blue” states. Polls conducted for the MPP report showed strong public support for the laws in all eleven medical marijuana states. Of the eight states which passed their laws by voter initiative, support has remained steady in Montana and risen markedly in the others.
In New England, the poll shows that 67 percent in Maine, 71 percent in Vermont, and 85 percent in Rhode Island support their state medical marijuana laws.
Shreds of proof
Although Massachusetts has no medical marijuana law, physicians have reccommended its use for years, notably for relief of nausea in chemotherapy and to combat glaucoma.
The MPP report takes on the Government’s position that marijuana has no proven medical value. “After 5,000 years of recorded medical use, marijuana disappeared from U.S. pharmacies after Federal prohibition in 1937.…
“A 1999 White House-commissioned review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported evidence of efficacy against nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety. Newer research has found that medical marijuana improves hepatitis C treatment outcomes by relieving the harsh side effects of antiviral medications, allowing patients to complete treatment successfully. Other studies have documented marijuana’s ability to ease difficult-to-treat pain caused by multiple sclerosis, HIV-related neuropathy, and other conditions.
“Particularly intriguing research has shown that marijuana’s active components protect nerve cells from many types of damage and can actually inhibit tumor growth without damaging healthy cells. Vaporizer research has answered the IOM’s biggest concern, the hazards of smoking, by demonstrating that vaporization allows use of whole marijuana with the same rapid action as with smoking, but without the irritants in smoke."
The entire report is available from
Marijuana Policy Project Foundation P.O. Box 77492 Washington, DC 20013 (202)462-5747 info@mpp.org www.mpp.org